Male train drivers in Sweden have come up with a novel way of staying cool in the summer heat after their company banned the wearing of shorts. The men are instead wearing skirts to work as they do not appear on the list of banned clothing that forms the uniform code for rail staff. The drivers' employers, the transportation company Arriva, instilled the ban on shorts after it took over operations in January. Drivers had previously worn them for years when conditions got hot in the summer. The mercury in the drivers' cabin can reach 35 degrees, which is ten degrees above what the World Health Organisation deems to be a comfortable working environment.

Arriva's communications manager Tomas Hedenius told a local newspaper that the company did not mind men wearing skirts. He said: "Our thinking is that one should look decent and proper when representing Arriva and the present uniforms do that. If the man wants to wear a skirt, then that is OK." He added: "To tell them to do something else would be discrimination." Driver Martin Akersten said his passengers didn't seem to have any problems with his uniform. He said: "Of course people stare at you a little when you are on the platform, but you just have to put up with it….So far no-one has said anything." He added: "I don't mind as it's more about comfort." Arriva is set to discuss its dress code again later this year.